The Oilers prospect pool is finally underway (save for John McCarron) for this season and there are some outstanding performances around the globe. Some of these players could be in the NHL by spring.

THE GREAT

The conversation starts with the amazing Greg Chase (11, 10-7-17) who sits just outside the WHL's top 10 in scoring early in the year. The agitating center has been an offensive factor in almost every game and has vaulted up the Oilers prospect list. His style fits a team need, and the fact that he plays center is another positive. He's a couple of years away. Just behind him in the WHL scoring race is 19-year old Mitchell Moroz (12, 11-5-16) who sits in 4th place in goals scored in the dub. The selection of Moroz was much maligned on draft day, mostly because it represented another potential "Coke Machine" draft--Oilers have spent a lot of draft gold in search of a powerforward without a lot of success since 2000--but Moroz has established this season that he can in fact cash when playing with skill. My guess is that he ends up being a physical winger who plays on the 3 or 4line if and when he arrives in the NHL, but this season is extremely encouraging. Mitchell Moroz is going to post a very big number in his final junior season.

Darnell Nurse (9, 1-8-9) is among the OHL's top scoring defensemen, but that's not even half of what he brings to the game. The big, tough, physical, mobile, intelligent 2-way defender is having an impact year as captain of the Soo Greyhounds. Remember when we spoke in the summer about Nurse adding PP time to his resume, and how that would improve his boxcars? Well, he's already at a point-per-game and as expected the 5x4 time (9, 1-4-5) is a big part of his season.

Dillon Simpson (4, 0-1-1) appears to be on his way to an outstanding future for the Edmonton Oilers, and has travelled many miles as a player since his draft day. When he was selected, there were questions about Simpson as a prospect, mostly around strength and footspeed. Simpson has worked very hard on his weaknesses in the years since he was draft (2011, 4th round) and has passed many players taken ahead of him because of it. His footspeed, mobility and strength are no longer a question, and as captain of UND this season he's taken on a leadership role. Coach Dave Hakstol: "He's only 20 years old, we have freshmen older than him. But it's really not about the date on your birth certificate, it's about your level of maturity and your life experiences, your mindset and your ability to be consistent and accountable and do things the right way. I think Dillon is at the highest level of those areas." I believe Simpson is going to pass a lot of defensemen on the Oiler depth chart as soon as he turns pro, and wouldn't be surprised to see him push for NHL employment in the months after turning pro.

Jujhar Khaira (8, 3-2-5) plays for a button down WHL coach (Kevin Contstantine) and in a defensive system, but has shown well across the board so far this season. He's been impacted this weekend by injury, but has been observed playing well in a 2-way role and provided a physical presence. Khaira's a big center (6.04, 215, just turned 19) and would fit a need for the Oilers if he continues to develop as a center.

Bogdan Yakimov (16, 2-4-6) is making the huge step up to KHL play this year and doing very well. He has played some center and spent time on the 2line, but appears to be getting 3line minutes for Neftekhimik this season. At 6.05, 202, he's another giant on the way--and it's important to remember he's in what is generally described as being the second best league on the planet at age 19.

Tyler Pitlick (7, 1-2-3) has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness since turning pro in the fall of 2011. This fall, he's followed up a strong training camp with the big club by making himself a big part of the Barons. Pitlick has played center, scored a shorthanded goal and most recently (this weekend) has been running wild on the top Barons line (with Linus Omark and Anton Lander) posting some crooked numbers on the scoreboard. For really the first time since turning pro, Pitlick is a legit callup option (as described by Jonathan Willis in this article).

Anton Lander (6, 2-3-5) has plenty of NHL experience but there's little doubt he was rushed to the show early. Lander's play in OKC since last spring (in his last 22 AHL games, Lander is 13-10-23) has been impressive, and despite being sent down from main camp at a time when centermen were in short supply the next recall will be well earned. That's an important distinction.

Oscar Klefbom (6, 0-1-1) is finding his way and gaining confidence at the AHL level now, and despite the fact Edmonton has a lot of one-way deals in front of him it's a good guess the Swede will make his NHL debut sometime this season. His main assets are exceptional speed, intelligent movement of the puck and reading plays--all of which will be welcome when he arrives in the NHL.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

The Stu MacGregor draft era (2008 and counting) has taken a lot of heat for not delivering on picks beyond #1 overall selections (Jordan Eberle gets forgotten about during the discussion). However, there's a long and impressive list of players who look like they're on their way. 2009 (Lander), 2010 (Pitlick, Marincin) and 2011 (Klefbom, Musil, Simpson, Gernat) have some nice arrows and at some point will break through.

The question: does it happen for any of them this season?

Lowetide has been one of the Oilogosphere's shining lights for over a century. You can check him out here at OilersNation and at lowetide.ca. He is also the host of Lowdown with Lowetide weekday mornings 10-noon on TSN 1260.

Greg Chase is one of the Hitmen I hated when the OilKings play the Hitmen. And I believe Moroz is the OilKings that other fans hate most.

Both of them are like Perron, always stir it up after the whistle. Moroz may not have the skill, but he is very smart in front of the net. Always find the open space and the rebound. If you put him with a good passer and a good shooter, he will get to the net to finish it. And the bonus, he is not hesitate to drop the gloves.

Can't help but feel the Oilers would be much better off with Krueger working with Eakins. They're sure paying for that lack of experience in the opening month of this season. Eakins, Krueger and Acton only.

Found this post from NewAgeSys on a link from twitter at abovetopsecret.com:

This thread is about NHL hockey and a new way to institute a system of play that NHL teams can use to win hockey games,

Moma2 is a visual thinker,and an Intuit,and has brought a new and slightly Aspie perspective to a competative sport.
Moma2 means Most Outstanding Athlete to and it is a reference to the fact that Moma2 has a sucessful and predominatly winning athletic background.

This thread is being written by someone who is a visual thinker so at times it will jump around and the writeing styles may change drasticly and quickly so please be aware that as difficult as it may seem it is important to try to keep up and just let yourself visualise some of the posts if they get colorful.The contrast in writing styles is supposed to drag you out of the box and give you something to contrast with in your own thinking style,it allows you to visualise certain aspects of the conversation but keep the rest lineal or straightforward.

Many of the ideas and philosophys posted will run counter to traditional views and tactics,this will immediatly become apparent ,and realise it is intentional and please dont feel the need to point out the tradionalistic perspective in a defensive dynamic or we will be endlessly debateing,when we should be learning something new together.Please compare and analyse the two perspectives,but lets not argue which perspective we are focusing on moveing forward with,that being Moma2s new perspective.we will be surgicly dissecting the traditional perspective and dicarding it completely and totally.

Moma2 believes that all sports are the same at the core value level,that all competative dynamics are also the same at the core value level, therefore winning requires the same tactical approach no matter what competative dynamic is being considered.

All actions need to be catalysed by a forward motion,every single one.Defence is a product of offensive failure,it is to be avoided as a core value goal and component of tactical planning.Defense will not be considered as a catalytic factor in any facet of the structure of this system of thinking and winning.

Time management and awareness is a key component of a winning perspective and we will focus on it heavily,it is the driving force behind momentum initiation and maintenance.

Possesion and transition are two major core values of our winning system and are also critical in all competative dynamics.we will focus on those dynamics.

Communication is another core value we will constantly be referring to,both styles and methods of delivery.We will learn to establish a "common ground"or a "same page"from step one on.Everyone will need to learn to speak in new communication styles,everyone.

Team play is always focused on a catalyst,one component must always be a catalyst that the group works off of,and each line must have a defined leader who they all listen and react to,and that line must be prepared to support that catalytic player 100% even if that man is double teamed,they must consistantly support their leadership structure on every shift.

The line-leader is like the nervous system of the line he can be anyone on the ice, is the man who is the catalytic leader of the hockey line we ice,he is the leader when he is on the ice and everyone is always keying off of him,as he will be makeing on-ice tactical adjustments every second he is on the ice.so he will be the lighthouse for everyone to look to when they need immediate direction.

Positional play--positional play will not be considered primary for us it will be secondary,we will abandon the concept,as it is regressive and prevents us from maintaining forward momentum and victory.Positional play is replaced by a practice called "GAPPING"and htis is a method of maintaining a specific and fluid amount of space between each team member on the ice.

Time and Space---these are concepts traditional hockey has created--they are meaningless to us,we will not consider them.We will institute as core values "conservation of motion"and "Conservation of Energy".Conservation of Motion is based on the concept of doing less moveing to accomplish more tacticly,it is the catalyst of the principal of Gapping.,we want to move ourselves as little as we can and have as great as an effect as we can manufacture by that movement,we never react to our opponent we are always focused on our Gapping and our tactical control of real estate or the ice surface.Conservation of Energy is based on the concept of smooth flowing movement combined with a forward moveing focus which allows our players to expend as little energy as possible shift by shift resulting in a consistant provision of performance level for 60 mins by all of our men.Winning is based on consistancy and we need to consistantly provide an adequate amount of energy and power to our system for 60mins--the entire game.This concept allows us to double-shift players ,something which we will also be incorporateing fully into this new system.Moma2 Backatyaoilers.

Cycleing,we will be useing two types of cycleing,one a full rink cycle which will be the base of our entire system ,and two a half rink cycle which will be the base components of our offense and defense.

Spear-tip ,this is the main catalyst of our full rink cycle,it is a man who is ALWAYS our first asset to engage the opponent,and he will be dictated by our gapping and conservation of motion principals.

We will expect all players on the ice to be supporting the cycle at all times,and never be reacting to the opponents actions,we will always maintain momentum and flow or conservation of energy,this is how we power our winning formula.

We will never use set plays,we will always develope our plays off of our core values,we will use our momentum and possesion of the puck to dictate our offense,we will expect all 5 men on the ice to be aware of and institute terminal offense at EVERY opportunity.

Possesion of the puck-we will NEVER surrender the puck by dumping it in or voluntarily giveing it away,we know that there are a finite number of possesion opportunitys given to both teams in every 60min contest so we will NEVER surrender even one,we will focus on earning as many of our opponents possible possesions as we can from that basic overall number we know will happen in 60mins,there is only a fine line difference numericly in possesion numbers game in and game out,we recognise that and adress it agressively.

Goal scoreing--we recognise that scoreing goals is the path to winning,always,that the whole purpose of stepping on the ice is to score goals,every possesion is an opportunity to score a goal and must be treated as such.we say that every pass is a potential one-time shot because we understand that there are a finite number of necessary passes required to score a goal and the fewer the better,passes beyond the offensive blueline will never number more than three without a shot being taken,the zone will NEVER be gained without a shot being taken immediatly.every man on the ice has an equal responsibility to provide offense and to take a shot in net---we never say a "shot on net"because that is defeatist thinking and we even need to change how we communicate about the game ,we are trying to learn to become visual thinkers together,so defeatist verbal references need to go.Every player MUST be thinking and acting shot first on our initial zone entry.

Goal scoreing--we always have a structured communication conduit attatched to our offensive focus,as a result we institute this dynamic as a core value--we always have our lineleaders execute a specific goal scoreing shot on a defined area of the net on a shift by shift and or a period by period or game by game basis,to be defined by the coaches.Our "tactical shot program"will be a pre-game discussion every game.It should look like this.

|we view the goaltender as an impediment to our final zone transition and the completion of our momentum thrust,we recognise his strenghts and limitations and we address them at their core values.as a result we tacticly expose him and prevent him from engageing us on his terms and we do not allow him to dictate momentum in any way,we negate his ability to contribute to his system in any defineable way.And we do this by viewing him in a 3rd dimension in his net,we look at the net and define the three zones the goalie has to function in mechaniclly,we call them from the feet to the knees--zone #1,from the knees to the hips-zone #2,from the hips to the shoulders-zone #3,from the shoulders to the head-zone#4,these are core definitions and need to be respected and adhered to,remember that whatever shot choice you use will be dependant on two things--the zone you are targeting on the goaltender and the specific area of the net itself within the goaltenders zone your lineleader is telling you to primarily shoot through.These two core value components of "tactical shot program"planning need to be communicated effectively from the coaches to the lineleaders to the players EVERY GAME.We make it look like this----line one in the first period is assigned zone #1 as a primary shooting area for the first period so they are shooting anyway from anywhere at the zone from the feet to the knees during the first period as their primary assignment and then as their secondary assignment they will shoot at a specific net area if their zone assignment isnt open say the top right corner ---so if they are in a shooting position they will first look from the feet to the knees and if that is choked they will instinctively go top right corner ,so as a system we ALWAYS have control of our assets and momentum and flow..Then the second line will be assigned zone #3 as a primary and low left post as a secondary focus,so now we can count on the lineleader on the second line haveing his men focus on our defined objectives in a creative manner.So line two for the first period will if open for a shot,target first the area from the hips to the shoulders as a zone assignment and if that is choked then they will quickly and instinctively shoot to the low left post,and each line will be tasked with this structure.Now we as a 5 man unit not only control momentum and flow but we have a crystal ball and know where the predominate number of rebounds will DEFINATELY BE comeing to and this definitive data consistantly provided allows us to implement a two dimensional offensive system platform because we CONTROL the shot placement of the rebounds when we recover them and this ability enables us to properly utilise our half-rink cycle to initiate our offense off of our defensive or full rink pllatform,it will be defined as a "hybrid base"later.The function of the full rink cycle will be defined as our hybrid base platform.we call it the HYBRID BASE PLATFORM because it can hybridise itself from offense to defense and back again seamlessly with the implementation of CONSERVATION OF MOTION--AND--CONSERVATION OF ENERGY,remember those core value components?Well heres where they apply.

We are a possesion team so our communication must be elite and the conduits maintained and adjusted constantly and accurately,we need specificly dedicated managerial resources to do this,we must realise communication is a key component of winning anything at any level in any dynamic.So it will be properly treated at every level.we want our men to have clearly defined and directed BUT INSTINCTIVE reaction abilitys,again by the implementation of COM and COE ,these core values enable us to trigger the reaction that lets us use our instincts,that speed of execution comes from properly manageing our half-rink or secondary cycle which we build and dictate off of our transition choices and
5 man offensive trigger responsibility to system execution.

Transitions--our transitions ALWAYS ENGAGE IN A FORWARD CYCLEING MOTION-MOMENTUM-OR DIRECTION-,forward,forward,forward,at all times flow forward and dominate ice or realestate until you utilise your transitions to a terminal shot position,then use the same flow and cycle to recover and reengage the rebound,then use that same flow and direction to recover defensive posture if recovery is not sucessful,that same flow and directional Hybrid cycle allows us to exert maximum pressure with minimal effort and attention,we will ultimately have the closest recovery and support man to the puck at all times

at all times covering every inch of the ice.We will be executeing this at higher speed than our oppents systems can adjust to useing set positional defences.Defences based on set plays and zone transitions.

Spear tip---this is the man who finds himself in the system dictated position defined by his Gap distance from the puck and his flow or direction of cycle,picture a rink in your mind--now imagine all five players are skateing alone in a full rink cycle going completely around the rink behind the nets,keeping an equal amount or distance or STRIDES between each other as accurately as they can----now see as they are cycleing they all begin to cut their north/south distance down so they all smoothly cut in front of the net in their full-rink cycle--------they have picked up speed slightly by cutting down the length of their cycle so they are now going faster without working any harder{COE}and they are closeing their GAPPING--or the distance between them{COM}as they maintain a faster adjusted full rink cycle,we still call it a full rink cycle because once we adjust for our spear-tip we will also own that area from the front of the net to the boards in both zones all the time.----------now imagine that as the 5 men are equally gapped and smoothly whizzing around in their cycle that as the man closeing on the net at a terminal north/south direction end gets to the net he shoots right to the boards and goes behind the net,but because of the speed of the full-rink cycle the second man closes fast and cuts in front of the net maintaining his speed and GAPPING with his support man behind him as they both continue the full-rink cycle now as a 4 man unit,see one man behind the net as the other four are now closed into a HALF-RINK CYCLE ,,,do you see how their speed has increased another gear because they have shortened the n/s cycle even more into the HALF-RINK CYCLE,now imagine that the man who is stationed behind the net has a puck and there is one opponent engageing him,,,,,as the player in the 4 man cycle closest to the puck closes he breaks out of the half rink cycle and engages the teammate behind the net as a support man,and he is careful to ALWAYS come in with speed and power and directional flow moma2 backatyaoilers so he can force the puck in the direction of our cycle ,,,because as he engages and we use our numbers advantage to pop the puck in the direction of our cycle we ALREADY have the first man who was originally behind the net to use his NOW SUPERIOR BODY POSITION to either recover the puck or to IMMEDIATLY SPRINT BACK INTO THE HALF-RINK 4- MAN CYCLE, and adjust his speed and GAPPING to maintain that cycle----------now imagine that our man behind the net who came in as support sees that the puck is lost,,,now he sprints back down ice and will maintain the blueline side of our defensive 4-man cycle,and it is a 4-man cycle because when we lost the puck the man closest to their high blueline in the HALF-RINK CYCLE immediatle SPRINTED DOWN ICE into a dominant SPEAR-TIP position so that as his support men come back to him they can immediatly break into another defensive HALF-RINK CYCLE,useing his engagement of the puck as a catalyst for timeing their support comeing out of the cycle,which will in part be dependant on the GAPPING at the moment of engagement with the puck.Remember that the defensive SPEAR-TIP can always take the puck BACK BEHIND HIS NET as a tactical move because our men are ALWAYS comeing in and closeing on the puck FASTER than the opponent due to COM/COE and proper GAPPING,so we always control PACE and MOMENTUM,we maintain the ability to change gears without loseing cycle or system integrity and flow. Implementing offense into the hybrid base,stoll,effectively-----there is a very basic and seamless way to integrate offense into the hybrid base of this system if you ARE CONDITIONED TO PLAY IN A SYSTEM THAT IS CONVENTIONAL AND BASED ON SET PLAYS.

This is called hybrid system offense and it is not the same as the hybrid definition we use for our NewAge system that I am createing.Because the entire system is comprised of what we would call the core values of our full-rink cycle.

The way to integrate this offense,Moma2 LA,is to begin to use the speed of the rush to eliminate one of your zone transitions,because the set play nature of the hybrid system doesnt want to ever surrender a transition it is a good adjustment and another hybrid will have difficulty adjusting to the additional core value being added from the rush,but there are e-tra adjustments needed to make the seamless transition without loseing system integrity of the hybrid itself.

To make the transition seamless and effective the defencemen need to adjust their first pass positioning comeing out of the d-zone and the forwards need to provide good neutral zone support,moma2 backatyaoilers the defensemen need to be able to threaten with the end to end rush comeing out of the d-zone as much as they can,and the forwards always need to be probeing for open lanes in stride so they can be hit with good passes and simply take the middle with the rush and drive it to the net,when two hybrids play they ceate a hybrid checkmmate and the more they each tighten up the defense the harder it gets for them to add even elemental offense,so the transition must come from a new element that the hybrids by nature do NOT embrace,something like the rush.The rush is only one facet that has a significant impact in a hybrid checkmate,
I erred in posting 3 zones of goalie mechanical function,there are four,if you roll three lines you can define three zones.In fact if there are errors,sorry but i forgot thereis a time limit on edits. the game is all about forward momentum and outsmarting your opponent during changes of pace.

create opportunities by opening up the ice, anyone without the puck should be working to draw their defense to the outside if in their end.

playing defensively you want to always be angled towards the play while maintaining your area of influence staying between the play and your goalie, keeping the puck to the outside.

get over the red line, dump it in, someone should already be on the puck in that moment with a guy trailing behind to cover for a possible cycle, third man in goes to the net for rebound or pass when the defense open up.

all 5 guys need to be playing the same system, but you can have different lines using different styles to accomodate your needs if you're ghosting the other team.

capitalize on their mistakes and play disciplined, but tough, never show any weakness and always play for your team.

Belov and Gordon have met my expectations so far. Ferrence hasn't been the same player I saw in Boston. I remember him being much more physical, and dirty. Then again, I really only watched them in the playoffs.

I watched the SJS play last night.......big, strong, fast, with no free loaders. With guys like Moroz, Chase, Kharia, Yakimov the future finally looks bright.

With all the prospects we have we might be able to trade for a legit defenseman.

I get the feeling that the lack of any discernible defensive system our defenseman have been left to their own devices. I see no system at play for the PP or the PK. I might be time for Eakins to hire a real coaching assistant instead of Smith and Buchy.

Eakins has to stop talking about compete, and fitness and start developing a real NHL hockey system........what we are witnessing is a lack of systems IMHO.

Well! Do I have someone that would love to talk to you!

Hey NewAgeSys....what do you have to say?

We have a roster full of bonafide shooters ,it is the system that dictates who is and isnt a shooter,nothing else.Not the player or his abilitys.
If the Oilers play the NewAge Hockey System or a variant this year we will see 45 shots per game over 82 games.
The NewAge System spreads offensive accountability 100% across the board like no other system being played in the NHL today.The offensive shot decisions are ALL system dictated and the shot choices are also SYSTEM dictated,many responsibilitys are removed from the players focus,and his game speed is drasticly improved as is his execution of system requirements.
If a player like Nail,who I have watched a lot of video on,is allowed to contribute to a system like the NewAge System his speed and instincts will if he works hard enough put him in CONSTANT position systemwise to be releaseing his shot,premier shot positions on a consistant basis.With this system and the Oilers talent it will literally be a matter of who works hardest gets the most goals,the opponent will have virtually nothing to say or do about this outcome,the system is THAT offensive and superior to the "hybrid system"being played by most NHL teams.
I recognised the finish but we have at least three guys in that league,with a d-man who looks like a sniper as well in Schultz.
Yakupovs sucess will depend on the system the coach chooses to use him in if he makes the team out of camp as we all seem to expect.
I created the NewAge Hockey System for the Oilers specificly and presented it to them on-line last year,I read Mr.Kruegers comments related to the type of offense we might see being similar to the PP of the 80s Oilers,welcome to my world,my system is absolutely and completely based off of the Oilers PP execution dureing the 80s,i have converted the core values of that PP to a superior 5 on 5 hyper-offensive system unlike any ever seen before.It is unique ,and it is mine.LA used it last year as did our farm team,the Oilers started to implement it with about 25 games to go and had steady sucess.
I posted extensively about my system on the Oilers website over a two year period,in an attempt to have it recognised and implemented,I believe I accomplished that,and along the way LA through Jarret Stoll and co. piggybacked the data from the Oilers site and implemented it,and the farm team also implemented my system data effectively,both LA and the farm team attained the expected results,and the Oilers were righting the ship at the end of the year believe it or not,you could feel it.
Players like Nail work so very hard every time they hit the ice that they need to play in a system that allows this extra effort to be immediatly rewarded and consistantly rewarded,they need a system that rewards extra effort and individual efforts that are aggressive and offensive for 60 complete minutes.A system that drains them of offensive energy,not one that stifles it ,not even for 5 mins of a game.
If Nail is on the second line consistantly he will push for the team goals lead and walk away with the Calder hands down,possibly by a record margin of points if he stays healthy for 82 games,I believe Sam Gagner is a natural fit with Nails vision and insincts,and because Sam looks to be anchoring the 2nd line their unavoidable chemistry will rear its head through many multiple point games for the two of them,if we see this dynamic for 82 games I peg Yakupov within the NewAge System to score 35 plus goals,if he finds a home on the PP maybe 40---and the 2nd line will propel us into the playoffs with those multi-point games.Remember this is a system specific prediction.If we play a hybrid system like we did most of last year,I say he will be a 20ish goal guy no matter what icetime he gets.i appreciate nails skillset and shot ect. but I still firmly believe that offensive sucess is catalysed by system induced opportunitys---so with an average system he will perform above average for a rookie,with a superior system he will perform above average on the NHL level.
Just make sure you remember to not blame Sammy for shooting a lot this year with nail on his line if we use the NewAge System,because the shots will be system dictated not dictated by anyones greed.And there should be 45 per game to go around,and i love the math when I see nails conversion ability,he will get four shots per game average,so it should be interesting.
If we play a hybrid system he will get less shots per game by a large margin,I see Nail useing his onetimer on the PP a lot and getting most of his goals from there which is why i pegged him in the 20s,but in the NewAge System he will be generateing his goals off 5 on 5 situations as well as the PP and he will have a constant stream of system induced shooting opportunitys which is why I pegged him at possibly 40 goals. Yes,he is a finisher,yes he has an invisible release,and yes he can score from absolutely everywhere,and yes he will fit in here and have a lot of great young teachers to help him out,like a third born he will talk-walk-and score goals faster because of his slightly older siblings like Hall-Gagner-Nuge-Ebbs ect.
But lets remember that he is walking into a room full of high picks with a serious skillset depth---this may be the toughest test he has ever had,and certainly tougher than the fellas before him,he has to compete with the full deck of cards with hemsky-Nuge-Hall-Ebbs-Gagner-Schultz-MPS ect.I dont see there being that much pressure or expectations put on him,we dont exactly need a savior these days with all the young studs we have.
As with all our players,as the system goes so goes the players statistical seasons.We can already count on one thing,Nail will be ready to put in the hard work needed to be a system asset,and the system wont matter in that regard,the rest is still unwritten history,and anyone who wants to can pick up the pen and start writeing,they just need the desire---I see a lot of that in this young man.

When you look at this prospect pool, do you get the feeling the Oilers current NHL core will look very little like what it looks now in the next 2-3 years?

I mean, they only have Smid and Ference signed for next year. Same goes for a few of the forwards. Looks like roster turnover will again be quite high for 14-15.

Having said that, do you envision a future where the Oilers are finally good without at least two of the wonder-kids?

I think the Oilers have three blue chip D prospects (Nurse, Klefbom, Marincin) and a couple of very good ones pushing them (Gernat, Simpson).

They won't all play for the Oilers. We'll probably see Klefbom play 20-30 games this season, then (imo) Nurse and Marincin next fall. Defensemen take forever even after playing in the NHL, so my guess is three of the 5 mentioned above have Oiler careers and the other two get traded.

As for the current roster, Justin Schultz, Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid are the heart of the blue imo.

So those names plus the 5 prospects(along with possibly Belov, who has been impressive) are the future.

Belov and Gordon have met my expectations so far. Ferrence hasn't been the same player I saw in Boston. I remember him being much more physical, and dirty. Then again, I really only watched them in the playoffs.

Still you have to count him as part of the future. Long term deal, captain, he's not going to be leaving. Or it's very unlikely anyway.

I watched the SJS play last night.......big, strong, fast, with no free loaders. With guys like Moroz, Chase, Kharia, Yakimov the future finally looks bright.

With all the prospects we have we might be able to trade for a legit defenseman.

I get the feeling that the lack of any discernible defensive system our defenseman have been left to their own devices. I see no system at play for the PP or the PK. I might be time for Eakins to hire a real coaching assistant instead of Smith and Buchy.

Eakins has to stop talking about compete, and fitness and start developing a real NHL hockey system........what we are witnessing is a lack of systems IMHO.

But isn't it the same assistant coaches who coached the excellent PP and PK last season?

I think the Oilers have three blue chip D prospects (Nurse, Klefbom, Marincin) and a couple of very good ones pushing them (Gernat, Simpson).

They won't all play for the Oilers. We'll probably see Klefbom play 20-30 games this season, then (imo) Nurse and Marincin next fall. Defensemen take forever even after playing in the NHL, so my guess is three of the 5 mentioned above have Oiler careers and the other two get traded.

As for the current roster, Justin Schultz, Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid are the heart of the blue imo.

So those names plus the 5 prospects(along with possibly Belov, who has been impressive) are the future.

So you consider Nurse, Klefbom, Marincin, Gernat, Simpson, but not Larsen, Fedun, Davidson and Musil?

Musil may be a long shot, but the other 3 all look very good in the preseason, not any worse than Marincin and Gernat. And we haven't seen much of Klefbom and not even have a chance to see Simpson plays yet.

I can understand all the hype about Klefbom, but how can Simpson already get ahead of Fedun, Larsen, and Davidson?

I watched the SJS play last night.......big, strong, fast, with no free loaders. With guys like Moroz, Chase, Kharia, Yakimov the future finally looks bright.

With all the prospects we have we might be able to trade for a legit defenseman.

I get the feeling that the lack of any discernible defensive system our defenseman have been left to their own devices. I see no system at play for the PP or the PK. I might be time for Eakins to hire a real coaching assistant instead of Smith and Buchy.

Eakins has to stop talking about compete, and fitness and start developing a real NHL hockey system........what we are witnessing is a lack of systems IMHO.

So you're saying that in 3-5 years we have a chance to possibly have the beginnings of the outline of a core of a roster that might not get their butts handed to them on a regular basis every night? Thanks Kevin. For only 5 years into the rebuild, you've done a heck of a job.

So it is their fault because they are KLowe's buddies, otherwise, everything will be fine?

I couldn't care if they are Klowe's buddies or not. If it is their fault, then it is their fault and vice verse.

If Eakins chooses to keep them around, it is Eakins decision and responsibility.

pkam, use your brain... through what 3 different coaches, Buckberger and Smith survive the axe. Can you not see that Renney, Kruger and Eakins did not have a say on the assistant, these two clowns were pushed on to these coaches by Lowe. Eakin waned to bring in his guys from the Marlies, and was told different! It was " get the coaching job", but I got a couple of clowns that are part of the coaching staff. There is nothing elese to this,. wake up.

I think the Oilers have three blue chip D prospects (Nurse, Klefbom, Marincin) and a couple of very good ones pushing them (Gernat, Simpson).

They won't all play for the Oilers. We'll probably see Klefbom play 20-30 games this season, then (imo) Nurse and Marincin next fall. Defensemen take forever even after playing in the NHL, so my guess is three of the 5 mentioned above have Oiler careers and the other two get traded.

As for the current roster, Justin Schultz, Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid are the heart of the blue imo.

So those names plus the 5 prospects(along with possibly Belov, who has been impressive) are the future.

I would agree except for Smid, I feel he will be the odd man out of the top six when the dust settles. He's looking slower than usual and seems to be on the wrong side of the puck. His lack of skating ability and stupid penalties are hurting the team. Trade bait at the deadline if you ask me.

as some of our defensive depth starts arriving, I agree that with J. Schultz, Ference, Petry and likely Belov getting signed long term, these guys will be the 4 that we build around. I am not convinced that Smid is here long term, even though he's signed for a while. was he not signed by Tanbo? I wonder if he's trade bait down the road, with the assumption that Klefbom will likely play full time next year and that Nurse and Marincin will *likely* try to make the Oil next year as well?

We have a roster full of bonafide shooters ,it is the system that dictates who is and isnt a shooter,nothing else.Not the player or his abilitys.
If the Oilers play the NewAge Hockey System or a variant this year we will see 45 shots per game over 82 games.
The NewAge System spreads offensive accountability 100% across the board like no other system being played in the NHL today.The offensive shot decisions are ALL system dictated and the shot choices are also SYSTEM dictated,many responsibilitys are removed from the players focus,and his game speed is drasticly improved as is his execution of system requirements.
If a player like Nail,who I have watched a lot of video on,is allowed to contribute to a system like the NewAge System his speed and instincts will if he works hard enough put him in CONSTANT position systemwise to be releaseing his shot,premier shot positions on a consistant basis.With this system and the Oilers talent it will literally be a matter of who works hardest gets the most goals,the opponent will have virtually nothing to say or do about this outcome,the system is THAT offensive and superior to the "hybrid system"being played by most NHL teams.
I recognised the finish but we have at least three guys in that league,with a d-man who looks like a sniper as well in Schultz.
Yakupovs sucess will depend on the system the coach chooses to use him in if he makes the team out of camp as we all seem to expect.
I created the NewAge Hockey System for the Oilers specificly and presented it to them on-line last year,I read Mr.Kruegers comments related to the type of offense we might see being similar to the PP of the 80s Oilers,welcome to my world,my system is absolutely and completely based off of the Oilers PP execution dureing the 80s,i have converted the core values of that PP to a superior 5 on 5 hyper-offensive system unlike any ever seen before.It is unique ,and it is mine.LA used it last year as did our farm team,the Oilers started to implement it with about 25 games to go and had steady sucess.
I posted extensively about my system on the Oilers website over a two year period,in an attempt to have it recognised and implemented,I believe I accomplished that,and along the way LA through Jarret Stoll and co. piggybacked the data from the Oilers site and implemented it,and the farm team also implemented my system data effectively,both LA and the farm team attained the expected results,and the Oilers were righting the ship at the end of the year believe it or not,you could feel it.
Players like Nail work so very hard every time they hit the ice that they need to play in a system that allows this extra effort to be immediatly rewarded and consistantly rewarded,they need a system that rewards extra effort and individual efforts that are aggressive and offensive for 60 complete minutes.A system that drains them of offensive energy,not one that stifles it ,not even for 5 mins of a game.
If Nail is on the second line consistantly he will push for the team goals lead and walk away with the Calder hands down,possibly by a record margin of points if he stays healthy for 82 games,I believe Sam Gagner is a natural fit with Nails vision and insincts,and because Sam looks to be anchoring the 2nd line their unavoidable chemistry will rear its head through many multiple point games for the two of them,if we see this dynamic for 82 games I peg Yakupov within the NewAge System to score 35 plus goals,if he finds a home on the PP maybe 40---and the 2nd line will propel us into the playoffs with those multi-point games.Remember this is a system specific prediction.If we play a hybrid system like we did most of last year,I say he will be a 20ish goal guy no matter what icetime he gets.i appreciate nails skillset and shot ect. but I still firmly believe that offensive sucess is catalysed by system induced opportunitys---so with an average system he will perform above average for a rookie,with a superior system he will perform above average on the NHL level.
Just make sure you remember to not blame Sammy for shooting a lot this year with nail on his line if we use the NewAge System,because the shots will be system dictated not dictated by anyones greed.And there should be 45 per game to go around,and i love the math when I see nails conversion ability,he will get four shots per game average,so it should be interesting.
If we play a hybrid system he will get less shots per game by a large margin,I see Nail useing his onetimer on the PP a lot and getting most of his goals from there which is why i pegged him in the 20s,but in the NewAge System he will be generateing his goals off 5 on 5 situations as well as the PP and he will have a constant stream of system induced shooting opportunitys which is why I pegged him at possibly 40 goals. Yes,he is a finisher,yes he has an invisible release,and yes he can score from absolutely everywhere,and yes he will fit in here and have a lot of great young teachers to help him out,like a third born he will talk-walk-and score goals faster because of his slightly older siblings like Hall-Gagner-Nuge-Ebbs ect.
But lets remember that he is walking into a room full of high picks with a serious skillset depth---this may be the toughest test he has ever had,and certainly tougher than the fellas before him,he has to compete with the full deck of cards with hemsky-Nuge-Hall-Ebbs-Gagner-Schultz-MPS ect.I dont see there being that much pressure or expectations put on him,we dont exactly need a savior these days with all the young studs we have.
As with all our players,as the system goes so goes the players statistical seasons.We can already count on one thing,Nail will be ready to put in the hard work needed to be a system asset,and the system wont matter in that regard,the rest is still unwritten history,and anyone who wants to can pick up the pen and start writeing,they just need the desire---I see a lot of that in this young man.

Aaahhh the memories!!

Jayyyyyzzuz.

I almost forgot about that guy. Tried to read a few of those homeric poems but ended up stupider afterwards. After many months of therapy I'm almost normal again, but the damage still lingers.

I didn't give any credit of our strong PP and PK to the two assistant coaches. When someone blamed them for our poor PP and PK, I just pointed out that they were the assistant coaches of our great PP and PK the last 2 seasons.

If these two assistant coaches should not be credited our great PP and PK in the last 2 seasons because they have nothing to do with them, then why is it their fault when our PP and PK is not working this year? Should the blame fall onto someone else?

Why should they be spared the blame?

3 HC have fallen in the last 4 years. Why make Eakins 4 in 5?

When you have changed multiple head coaches,the GM, and nearly half your roster.Also Fired all the training staff, but you remain a basement dwelling franchise. Maybe you have too take a really long look at the two "good ole boys on the bus".

Isn't it the HC's decision if his assistants are useless or not? If Eakins doesn't think they are useless, who are we to tell Eakins to change his assistance?

You hit the point here. In a rationally run organization, HC decides his assistants, but not in this Oilers organization. This is Lowe's team by all means. A great leader puts people in the position where they can be successful. Giving Horcoff that contract and putting Smith and Buchy into the position they are not capable of showed everyone exactly what a leader Lowe is.

Found this post from NewAgeSys on a link from twitter at abovetopsecret.com:

This thread is about NHL hockey and a new way to institute a system of play that NHL teams can use to win hockey games,

Moma2 is a visual thinker,and an Intuit,and has brought a new and slightly Aspie perspective to a competative sport.
Moma2 means Most Outstanding Athlete to and it is a reference to the fact that Moma2 has a sucessful and predominatly winning athletic background.

This thread is being written by someone who is a visual thinker so at times it will jump around and the writeing styles may change drasticly and quickly so please be aware that as difficult as it may seem it is important to try to keep up and just let yourself visualise some of the posts if they get colorful.The contrast in writing styles is supposed to drag you out of the box and give you something to contrast with in your own thinking style,it allows you to visualise certain aspects of the conversation but keep the rest lineal or straightforward.

Many of the ideas and philosophys posted will run counter to traditional views and tactics,this will immediatly become apparent ,and realise it is intentional and please dont feel the need to point out the tradionalistic perspective in a defensive dynamic or we will be endlessly debateing,when we should be learning something new together.Please compare and analyse the two perspectives,but lets not argue which perspective we are focusing on moveing forward with,that being Moma2s new perspective.we will be surgicly dissecting the traditional perspective and dicarding it completely and totally.

Moma2 believes that all sports are the same at the core value level,that all competative dynamics are also the same at the core value level, therefore winning requires the same tactical approach no matter what competative dynamic is being considered.

All actions need to be catalysed by a forward motion,every single one.Defence is a product of offensive failure,it is to be avoided as a core value goal and component of tactical planning.Defense will not be considered as a catalytic factor in any facet of the structure of this system of thinking and winning.

Time management and awareness is a key component of a winning perspective and we will focus on it heavily,it is the driving force behind momentum initiation and maintenance.

Possesion and transition are two major core values of our winning system and are also critical in all competative dynamics.we will focus on those dynamics.

Communication is another core value we will constantly be referring to,both styles and methods of delivery.We will learn to establish a "common ground"or a "same page"from step one on.Everyone will need to learn to speak in new communication styles,everyone.

Team play is always focused on a catalyst,one component must always be a catalyst that the group works off of,and each line must have a defined leader who they all listen and react to,and that line must be prepared to support that catalytic player 100% even if that man is double teamed,they must consistantly support their leadership structure on every shift.

The line-leader is like the nervous system of the line he can be anyone on the ice, is the man who is the catalytic leader of the hockey line we ice,he is the leader when he is on the ice and everyone is always keying off of him,as he will be makeing on-ice tactical adjustments every second he is on the ice.so he will be the lighthouse for everyone to look to when they need immediate direction.

Positional play--positional play will not be considered primary for us it will be secondary,we will abandon the concept,as it is regressive and prevents us from maintaining forward momentum and victory.Positional play is replaced by a practice called "GAPPING"and htis is a method of maintaining a specific and fluid amount of space between each team member on the ice.

Time and Space---these are concepts traditional hockey has created--they are meaningless to us,we will not consider them.We will institute as core values "conservation of motion"and "Conservation of Energy".Conservation of Motion is based on the concept of doing less moveing to accomplish more tacticly,it is the catalyst of the principal of Gapping.,we want to move ourselves as little as we can and have as great as an effect as we can manufacture by that movement,we never react to our opponent we are always focused on our Gapping and our tactical control of real estate or the ice surface.Conservation of Energy is based on the concept of smooth flowing movement combined with a forward moveing focus which allows our players to expend as little energy as possible shift by shift resulting in a consistant provision of performance level for 60 mins by all of our men.Winning is based on consistancy and we need to consistantly provide an adequate amount of energy and power to our system for 60mins--the entire game.This concept allows us to double-shift players ,something which we will also be incorporateing fully into this new system.Moma2 Backatyaoilers.

Cycleing,we will be useing two types of cycleing,one a full rink cycle which will be the base of our entire system ,and two a half rink cycle which will be the base components of our offense and defense.

Spear-tip ,this is the main catalyst of our full rink cycle,it is a man who is ALWAYS our first asset to engage the opponent,and he will be dictated by our gapping and conservation of motion principals.

We will expect all players on the ice to be supporting the cycle at all times,and never be reacting to the opponents actions,we will always maintain momentum and flow or conservation of energy,this is how we power our winning formula.

We will never use set plays,we will always develope our plays off of our core values,we will use our momentum and possesion of the puck to dictate our offense,we will expect all 5 men on the ice to be aware of and institute terminal offense at EVERY opportunity.

Possesion of the puck-we will NEVER surrender the puck by dumping it in or voluntarily giveing it away,we know that there are a finite number of possesion opportunitys given to both teams in every 60min contest so we will NEVER surrender even one,we will focus on earning as many of our opponents possible possesions as we can from that basic overall number we know will happen in 60mins,there is only a fine line difference numericly in possesion numbers game in and game out,we recognise that and adress it agressively.

Goal scoreing--we recognise that scoreing goals is the path to winning,always,that the whole purpose of stepping on the ice is to score goals,every possesion is an opportunity to score a goal and must be treated as such.we say that every pass is a potential one-time shot because we understand that there are a finite number of necessary passes required to score a goal and the fewer the better,passes beyond the offensive blueline will never number more than three without a shot being taken,the zone will NEVER be gained without a shot being taken immediatly.every man on the ice has an equal responsibility to provide offense and to take a shot in net---we never say a "shot on net"because that is defeatist thinking and we even need to change how we communicate about the game ,we are trying to learn to become visual thinkers together,so defeatist verbal references need to go.Every player MUST be thinking and acting shot first on our initial zone entry.

Goal scoreing--we always have a structured communication conduit attatched to our offensive focus,as a result we institute this dynamic as a core value--we always have our lineleaders execute a specific goal scoreing shot on a defined area of the net on a shift by shift and or a period by period or game by game basis,to be defined by the coaches.Our "tactical shot program"will be a pre-game discussion every game.It should look like this.

|we view the goaltender as an impediment to our final zone transition and the completion of our momentum thrust,we recognise his strenghts and limitations and we address them at their core values.as a result we tacticly expose him and prevent him from engageing us on his terms and we do not allow him to dictate momentum in any way,we negate his ability to contribute to his system in any defineable way.And we do this by viewing him in a 3rd dimension in his net,we look at the net and define the three zones the goalie has to function in mechaniclly,we call them from the feet to the knees--zone #1,from the knees to the hips-zone #2,from the hips to the shoulders-zone #3,from the shoulders to the head-zone#4,these are core definitions and need to be respected and adhered to,remember that whatever shot choice you use will be dependant on two things--the zone you are targeting on the goaltender and the specific area of the net itself within the goaltenders zone your lineleader is telling you to primarily shoot through.These two core value components of "tactical shot program"planning need to be communicated effectively from the coaches to the lineleaders to the players EVERY GAME.We make it look like this----line one in the first period is assigned zone #1 as a primary shooting area for the first period so they are shooting anyway from anywhere at the zone from the feet to the knees during the first period as their primary assignment and then as their secondary assignment they will shoot at a specific net area if their zone assignment isnt open say the top right corner ---so if they are in a shooting position they will first look from the feet to the knees and if that is choked they will instinctively go top right corner ,so as a system we ALWAYS have control of our assets and momentum and flow..Then the second line will be assigned zone #3 as a primary and low left post as a secondary focus,so now we can count on the lineleader on the second line haveing his men focus on our defined objectives in a creative manner.So line two for the first period will if open for a shot,target first the area from the hips to the shoulders as a zone assignment and if that is choked then they will quickly and instinctively shoot to the low left post,and each line will be tasked with this structure.Now we as a 5 man unit not only control momentum and flow but we have a crystal ball and know where the predominate number of rebounds will DEFINATELY BE comeing to and this definitive data consistantly provided allows us to implement a two dimensional offensive system platform because we CONTROL the shot placement of the rebounds when we recover them and this ability enables us to properly utilise our half-rink cycle to initiate our offense off of our defensive or full rink pllatform,it will be defined as a "hybrid base"later.The function of the full rink cycle will be defined as our hybrid base platform.we call it the HYBRID BASE PLATFORM because it can hybridise itself from offense to defense and back again seamlessly with the implementation of CONSERVATION OF MOTION--AND--CONSERVATION OF ENERGY,remember those core value components?Well heres where they apply.

We are a possesion team so our communication must be elite and the conduits maintained and adjusted constantly and accurately,we need specificly dedicated managerial resources to do this,we must realise communication is a key component of winning anything at any level in any dynamic.So it will be properly treated at every level.we want our men to have clearly defined and directed BUT INSTINCTIVE reaction abilitys,again by the implementation of COM and COE ,these core values enable us to trigger the reaction that lets us use our instincts,that speed of execution comes from properly manageing our half-rink or secondary cycle which we build and dictate off of our transition choices and
5 man offensive trigger responsibility to system execution.

Transitions--our transitions ALWAYS ENGAGE IN A FORWARD CYCLEING MOTION-MOMENTUM-OR DIRECTION-,forward,forward,forward,at all times flow forward and dominate ice or realestate until you utilise your transitions to a terminal shot position,then use the same flow and cycle to recover and reengage the rebound,then use that same flow and direction to recover defensive posture if recovery is not sucessful,that same flow and directional Hybrid cycle allows us to exert maximum pressure with minimal effort and attention,we will ultimately have the closest recovery and support man to the puck at all times

at all times covering every inch of the ice.We will be executeing this at higher speed than our oppents systems can adjust to useing set positional defences.Defences based on set plays and zone transitions.

Spear tip---this is the man who finds himself in the system dictated position defined by his Gap distance from the puck and his flow or direction of cycle,picture a rink in your mind--now imagine all five players are skateing alone in a full rink cycle going completely around the rink behind the nets,keeping an equal amount or distance or STRIDES between each other as accurately as they can----now see as they are cycleing they all begin to cut their north/south distance down so they all smoothly cut in front of the net in their full-rink cycle--------they have picked up speed slightly by cutting down the length of their cycle so they are now going faster without working any harder{COE}and they are closeing their GAPPING--or the distance between them{COM}as they maintain a faster adjusted full rink cycle,we still call it a full rink cycle because once we adjust for our spear-tip we will also own that area from the front of the net to the boards in both zones all the time.----------now imagine that as the 5 men are equally gapped and smoothly whizzing around in their cycle that as the man closeing on the net at a terminal north/south direction end gets to the net he shoots right to the boards and goes behind the net,but because of the speed of the full-rink cycle the second man closes fast and cuts in front of the net maintaining his speed and GAPPING with his support man behind him as they both continue the full-rink cycle now as a 4 man unit,see one man behind the net as the other four are now closed into a HALF-RINK CYCLE ,,,do you see how their speed has increased another gear because they have shortened the n/s cycle even more into the HALF-RINK CYCLE,now imagine that the man who is stationed behind the net has a puck and there is one opponent engageing him,,,,,as the player in the 4 man cycle closest to the puck closes he breaks out of the half rink cycle and engages the teammate behind the net as a support man,and he is careful to ALWAYS come in with speed and power and directional flow moma2 backatyaoilers so he can force the puck in the direction of our cycle ,,,because as he engages and we use our numbers advantage to pop the puck in the direction of our cycle we ALREADY have the first man who was originally behind the net to use his NOW SUPERIOR BODY POSITION to either recover the puck or to IMMEDIATLY SPRINT BACK INTO THE HALF-RINK 4- MAN CYCLE, and adjust his speed and GAPPING to maintain that cycle----------now imagine that our man behind the net who came in as support sees that the puck is lost,,,now he sprints back down ice and will maintain the blueline side of our defensive 4-man cycle,and it is a 4-man cycle because when we lost the puck the man closest to their high blueline in the HALF-RINK CYCLE immediatle SPRINTED DOWN ICE into a dominant SPEAR-TIP position so that as his support men come back to him they can immediatly break into another defensive HALF-RINK CYCLE,useing his engagement of the puck as a catalyst for timeing their support comeing out of the cycle,which will in part be dependant on the GAPPING at the moment of engagement with the puck.Remember that the defensive SPEAR-TIP can always take the puck BACK BEHIND HIS NET as a tactical move because our men are ALWAYS comeing in and closeing on the puck FASTER than the opponent due to COM/COE and proper GAPPING,so we always control PACE and MOMENTUM,we maintain the ability to change gears without loseing cycle or system integrity and flow. Implementing offense into the hybrid base,stoll,effectively-----there is a very basic and seamless way to integrate offense into the hybrid base of this system if you ARE CONDITIONED TO PLAY IN A SYSTEM THAT IS CONVENTIONAL AND BASED ON SET PLAYS.

This is called hybrid system offense and it is not the same as the hybrid definition we use for our NewAge system that I am createing.Because the entire system is comprised of what we would call the core values of our full-rink cycle.

The way to integrate this offense,Moma2 LA,is to begin to use the speed of the rush to eliminate one of your zone transitions,because the set play nature of the hybrid system doesnt want to ever surrender a transition it is a good adjustment and another hybrid will have difficulty adjusting to the additional core value being added from the rush,but there are e-tra adjustments needed to make the seamless transition without loseing system integrity of the hybrid itself.

To make the transition seamless and effective the defencemen need to adjust their first pass positioning comeing out of the d-zone and the forwards need to provide good neutral zone support,moma2 backatyaoilers the defensemen need to be able to threaten with the end to end rush comeing out of the d-zone as much as they can,and the forwards always need to be probeing for open lanes in stride so they can be hit with good passes and simply take the middle with the rush and drive it to the net,when two hybrids play they ceate a hybrid checkmmate and the more they each tighten up the defense the harder it gets for them to add even elemental offense,so the transition must come from a new element that the hybrids by nature do NOT embrace,something like the rush.The rush is only one facet that has a significant impact in a hybrid checkmate,
I erred in posting 3 zones of goalie mechanical function,there are four,if you roll three lines you can define three zones.In fact if there are errors,sorry but i forgot thereis a time limit on edits. the game is all about forward momentum and outsmarting your opponent during changes of pace.

create opportunities by opening up the ice, anyone without the puck should be working to draw their defense to the outside if in their end.

playing defensively you want to always be angled towards the play while maintaining your area of influence staying between the play and your goalie, keeping the puck to the outside.

get over the red line, dump it in, someone should already be on the puck in that moment with a guy trailing behind to cover for a possible cycle, third man in goes to the net for rebound or pass when the defense open up.

all 5 guys need to be playing the same system, but you can have different lines using different styles to accomodate your needs if you're ghosting the other team.

capitalize on their mistakes and play disciplined, but tough, never show any weakness and always play for your team.

Found this post from NewAgeSys on a link from twitter at abovetopsecret.com:

This thread is about NHL hockey and a new way to institute a system of play that NHL teams can use to win hockey games,

Moma2 is a visual thinker,and an Intuit,and has brought a new and slightly Aspie perspective to a competative sport.
Moma2 means Most Outstanding Athlete to and it is a reference to the fact that Moma2 has a sucessful and predominatly winning athletic background.

This thread is being written by someone who is a visual thinker so at times it will jump around and the writeing styles may change drasticly and quickly so please be aware that as difficult as it may seem it is important to try to keep up and just let yourself visualise some of the posts if they get colorful.The contrast in writing styles is supposed to drag you out of the box and give you something to contrast with in your own thinking style,it allows you to visualise certain aspects of the conversation but keep the rest lineal or straightforward.

Many of the ideas and philosophys posted will run counter to traditional views and tactics,this will immediatly become apparent ,and realise it is intentional and please dont feel the need to point out the tradionalistic perspective in a defensive dynamic or we will be endlessly debateing,when we should be learning something new together.Please compare and analyse the two perspectives,but lets not argue which perspective we are focusing on moveing forward with,that being Moma2s new perspective.we will be surgicly dissecting the traditional perspective and dicarding it completely and totally.

Moma2 believes that all sports are the same at the core value level,that all competative dynamics are also the same at the core value level, therefore winning requires the same tactical approach no matter what competative dynamic is being considered.

All actions need to be catalysed by a forward motion,every single one.Defence is a product of offensive failure,it is to be avoided as a core value goal and component of tactical planning.Defense will not be considered as a catalytic factor in any facet of the structure of this system of thinking and winning.

Time management and awareness is a key component of a winning perspective and we will focus on it heavily,it is the driving force behind momentum initiation and maintenance.

Possesion and transition are two major core values of our winning system and are also critical in all competative dynamics.we will focus on those dynamics.

Communication is another core value we will constantly be referring to,both styles and methods of delivery.We will learn to establish a "common ground"or a "same page"from step one on.Everyone will need to learn to speak in new communication styles,everyone.

Team play is always focused on a catalyst,one component must always be a catalyst that the group works off of,and each line must have a defined leader who they all listen and react to,and that line must be prepared to support that catalytic player 100% even if that man is double teamed,they must consistantly support their leadership structure on every shift.

The line-leader is like the nervous system of the line he can be anyone on the ice, is the man who is the catalytic leader of the hockey line we ice,he is the leader when he is on the ice and everyone is always keying off of him,as he will be makeing on-ice tactical adjustments every second he is on the ice.so he will be the lighthouse for everyone to look to when they need immediate direction.

Positional play--positional play will not be considered primary for us it will be secondary,we will abandon the concept,as it is regressive and prevents us from maintaining forward momentum and victory.Positional play is replaced by a practice called "GAPPING"and htis is a method of maintaining a specific and fluid amount of space between each team member on the ice.

Time and Space---these are concepts traditional hockey has created--they are meaningless to us,we will not consider them.We will institute as core values "conservation of motion"and "Conservation of Energy".Conservation of Motion is based on the concept of doing less moveing to accomplish more tacticly,it is the catalyst of the principal of Gapping.,we want to move ourselves as little as we can and have as great as an effect as we can manufacture by that movement,we never react to our opponent we are always focused on our Gapping and our tactical control of real estate or the ice surface.Conservation of Energy is based on the concept of smooth flowing movement combined with a forward moveing focus which allows our players to expend as little energy as possible shift by shift resulting in a consistant provision of performance level for 60 mins by all of our men.Winning is based on consistancy and we need to consistantly provide an adequate amount of energy and power to our system for 60mins--the entire game.This concept allows us to double-shift players ,something which we will also be incorporateing fully into this new system.Moma2 Backatyaoilers.

Cycleing,we will be useing two types of cycleing,one a full rink cycle which will be the base of our entire system ,and two a half rink cycle which will be the base components of our offense and defense.

Spear-tip ,this is the main catalyst of our full rink cycle,it is a man who is ALWAYS our first asset to engage the opponent,and he will be dictated by our gapping and conservation of motion principals.

We will expect all players on the ice to be supporting the cycle at all times,and never be reacting to the opponents actions,we will always maintain momentum and flow or conservation of energy,this is how we power our winning formula.

We will never use set plays,we will always develope our plays off of our core values,we will use our momentum and possesion of the puck to dictate our offense,we will expect all 5 men on the ice to be aware of and institute terminal offense at EVERY opportunity.

Possesion of the puck-we will NEVER surrender the puck by dumping it in or voluntarily giveing it away,we know that there are a finite number of possesion opportunitys given to both teams in every 60min contest so we will NEVER surrender even one,we will focus on earning as many of our opponents possible possesions as we can from that basic overall number we know will happen in 60mins,there is only a fine line difference numericly in possesion numbers game in and game out,we recognise that and adress it agressively.

Goal scoreing--we recognise that scoreing goals is the path to winning,always,that the whole purpose of stepping on the ice is to score goals,every possesion is an opportunity to score a goal and must be treated as such.we say that every pass is a potential one-time shot because we understand that there are a finite number of necessary passes required to score a goal and the fewer the better,passes beyond the offensive blueline will never number more than three without a shot being taken,the zone will NEVER be gained without a shot being taken immediatly.every man on the ice has an equal responsibility to provide offense and to take a shot in net---we never say a "shot on net"because that is defeatist thinking and we even need to change how we communicate about the game ,we are trying to learn to become visual thinkers together,so defeatist verbal references need to go.Every player MUST be thinking and acting shot first on our initial zone entry.

Goal scoreing--we always have a structured communication conduit attatched to our offensive focus,as a result we institute this dynamic as a core value--we always have our lineleaders execute a specific goal scoreing shot on a defined area of the net on a shift by shift and or a period by period or game by game basis,to be defined by the coaches.Our "tactical shot program"will be a pre-game discussion every game.It should look like this.

|we view the goaltender as an impediment to our final zone transition and the completion of our momentum thrust,we recognise his strenghts and limitations and we address them at their core values.as a result we tacticly expose him and prevent him from engageing us on his terms and we do not allow him to dictate momentum in any way,we negate his ability to contribute to his system in any defineable way.And we do this by viewing him in a 3rd dimension in his net,we look at the net and define the three zones the goalie has to function in mechaniclly,we call them from the feet to the knees--zone #1,from the knees to the hips-zone #2,from the hips to the shoulders-zone #3,from the shoulders to the head-zone#4,these are core definitions and need to be respected and adhered to,remember that whatever shot choice you use will be dependant on two things--the zone you are targeting on the goaltender and the specific area of the net itself within the goaltenders zone your lineleader is telling you to primarily shoot through.These two core value components of "tactical shot program"planning need to be communicated effectively from the coaches to the lineleaders to the players EVERY GAME.We make it look like this----line one in the first period is assigned zone #1 as a primary shooting area for the first period so they are shooting anyway from anywhere at the zone from the feet to the knees during the first period as their primary assignment and then as their secondary assignment they will shoot at a specific net area if their zone assignment isnt open say the top right corner ---so if they are in a shooting position they will first look from the feet to the knees and if that is choked they will instinctively go top right corner ,so as a system we ALWAYS have control of our assets and momentum and flow..Then the second line will be assigned zone #3 as a primary and low left post as a secondary focus,so now we can count on the lineleader on the second line haveing his men focus on our defined objectives in a creative manner.So line two for the first period will if open for a shot,target first the area from the hips to the shoulders as a zone assignment and if that is choked then they will quickly and instinctively shoot to the low left post,and each line will be tasked with this structure.Now we as a 5 man unit not only control momentum and flow but we have a crystal ball and know where the predominate number of rebounds will DEFINATELY BE comeing to and this definitive data consistantly provided allows us to implement a two dimensional offensive system platform because we CONTROL the shot placement of the rebounds when we recover them and this ability enables us to properly utilise our half-rink cycle to initiate our offense off of our defensive or full rink pllatform,it will be defined as a "hybrid base"later.The function of the full rink cycle will be defined as our hybrid base platform.we call it the HYBRID BASE PLATFORM because it can hybridise itself from offense to defense and back again seamlessly with the implementation of CONSERVATION OF MOTION--AND--CONSERVATION OF ENERGY,remember those core value components?Well heres where they apply.

We are a possesion team so our communication must be elite and the conduits maintained and adjusted constantly and accurately,we need specificly dedicated managerial resources to do this,we must realise communication is a key component of winning anything at any level in any dynamic.So it will be properly treated at every level.we want our men to have clearly defined and directed BUT INSTINCTIVE reaction abilitys,again by the implementation of COM and COE ,these core values enable us to trigger the reaction that lets us use our instincts,that speed of execution comes from properly manageing our half-rink or secondary cycle which we build and dictate off of our transition choices and
5 man offensive trigger responsibility to system execution.

Transitions--our transitions ALWAYS ENGAGE IN A FORWARD CYCLEING MOTION-MOMENTUM-OR DIRECTION-,forward,forward,forward,at all times flow forward and dominate ice or realestate until you utilise your transitions to a terminal shot position,then use the same flow and cycle to recover and reengage the rebound,then use that same flow and direction to recover defensive posture if recovery is not sucessful,that same flow and directional Hybrid cycle allows us to exert maximum pressure with minimal effort and attention,we will ultimately have the closest recovery and support man to the puck at all times

at all times covering every inch of the ice.We will be executeing this at higher speed than our oppents systems can adjust to useing set positional defences.Defences based on set plays and zone transitions.

Spear tip---this is the man who finds himself in the system dictated position defined by his Gap distance from the puck and his flow or direction of cycle,picture a rink in your mind--now imagine all five players are skateing alone in a full rink cycle going completely around the rink behind the nets,keeping an equal amount or distance or STRIDES between each other as accurately as they can----now see as they are cycleing they all begin to cut their north/south distance down so they all smoothly cut in front of the net in their full-rink cycle--------they have picked up speed slightly by cutting down the length of their cycle so they are now going faster without working any harder{COE}and they are closeing their GAPPING--or the distance between them{COM}as they maintain a faster adjusted full rink cycle,we still call it a full rink cycle because once we adjust for our spear-tip we will also own that area from the front of the net to the boards in both zones all the time.----------now imagine that as the 5 men are equally gapped and smoothly whizzing around in their cycle that as the man closeing on the net at a terminal north/south direction end gets to the net he shoots right to the boards and goes behind the net,but because of the speed of the full-rink cycle the second man closes fast and cuts in front of the net maintaining his speed and GAPPING with his support man behind him as they both continue the full-rink cycle now as a 4 man unit,see one man behind the net as the other four are now closed into a HALF-RINK CYCLE ,,,do you see how their speed has increased another gear because they have shortened the n/s cycle even more into the HALF-RINK CYCLE,now imagine that the man who is stationed behind the net has a puck and there is one opponent engageing him,,,,,as the player in the 4 man cycle closest to the puck closes he breaks out of the half rink cycle and engages the teammate behind the net as a support man,and he is careful to ALWAYS come in with speed and power and directional flow moma2 backatyaoilers so he can force the puck in the direction of our cycle ,,,because as he engages and we use our numbers advantage to pop the puck in the direction of our cycle we ALREADY have the first man who was originally behind the net to use his NOW SUPERIOR BODY POSITION to either recover the puck or to IMMEDIATLY SPRINT BACK INTO THE HALF-RINK 4- MAN CYCLE, and adjust his speed and GAPPING to maintain that cycle----------now imagine that our man behind the net who came in as support sees that the puck is lost,,,now he sprints back down ice and will maintain the blueline side of our defensive 4-man cycle,and it is a 4-man cycle because when we lost the puck the man closest to their high blueline in the HALF-RINK CYCLE immediatle SPRINTED DOWN ICE into a dominant SPEAR-TIP position so that as his support men come back to him they can immediatly break into another defensive HALF-RINK CYCLE,useing his engagement of the puck as a catalyst for timeing their support comeing out of the cycle,which will in part be dependant on the GAPPING at the moment of engagement with the puck.Remember that the defensive SPEAR-TIP can always take the puck BACK BEHIND HIS NET as a tactical move because our men are ALWAYS comeing in and closeing on the puck FASTER than the opponent due to COM/COE and proper GAPPING,so we always control PACE and MOMENTUM,we maintain the ability to change gears without loseing cycle or system integrity and flow. Implementing offense into the hybrid base,stoll,effectively-----there is a very basic and seamless way to integrate offense into the hybrid base of this system if you ARE CONDITIONED TO PLAY IN A SYSTEM THAT IS CONVENTIONAL AND BASED ON SET PLAYS.

This is called hybrid system offense and it is not the same as the hybrid definition we use for our NewAge system that I am createing.Because the entire system is comprised of what we would call the core values of our full-rink cycle.

The way to integrate this offense,Moma2 LA,is to begin to use the speed of the rush to eliminate one of your zone transitions,because the set play nature of the hybrid system doesnt want to ever surrender a transition it is a good adjustment and another hybrid will have difficulty adjusting to the additional core value being added from the rush,but there are e-tra adjustments needed to make the seamless transition without loseing system integrity of the hybrid itself.

To make the transition seamless and effective the defencemen need to adjust their first pass positioning comeing out of the d-zone and the forwards need to provide good neutral zone support,moma2 backatyaoilers the defensemen need to be able to threaten with the end to end rush comeing out of the d-zone as much as they can,and the forwards always need to be probeing for open lanes in stride so they can be hit with good passes and simply take the middle with the rush and drive it to the net,when two hybrids play they ceate a hybrid checkmmate and the more they each tighten up the defense the harder it gets for them to add even elemental offense,so the transition must come from a new element that the hybrids by nature do NOT embrace,something like the rush.The rush is only one facet that has a significant impact in a hybrid checkmate,
I erred in posting 3 zones of goalie mechanical function,there are four,if you roll three lines you can define three zones.In fact if there are errors,sorry but i forgot thereis a time limit on edits. the game is all about forward momentum and outsmarting your opponent during changes of pace.

create opportunities by opening up the ice, anyone without the puck should be working to draw their defense to the outside if in their end.

playing defensively you want to always be angled towards the play while maintaining your area of influence staying between the play and your goalie, keeping the puck to the outside.

get over the red line, dump it in, someone should already be on the puck in that moment with a guy trailing behind to cover for a possible cycle, third man in goes to the net for rebound or pass when the defense open up.

all 5 guys need to be playing the same system, but you can have different lines using different styles to accomodate your needs if you're ghosting the other team.

capitalize on their mistakes and play disciplined, but tough, never show any weakness and always play for your team.

16 years exp.

Just in case everyone needed to see it again...

3233 words!!! That's insane! I wonder how many hours were spent typing that worthless post...

I think the Oilers have three blue chip D prospects (Nurse, Klefbom, Marincin) and a couple of very good ones pushing them (Gernat, Simpson).

They won't all play for the Oilers. We'll probably see Klefbom play 20-30 games this season, then (imo) Nurse and Marincin next fall. Defensemen take forever even after playing in the NHL, so my guess is three of the 5 mentioned above have Oiler careers and the other two get traded.

As for the current roster, Justin Schultz, Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid are the heart of the blue imo.

So those names plus the 5 prospects(along with possibly Belov, who has been impressive) are the future.

I'm still hoping for Musil as well. I wish he could become a Green, Scudari type. I think Fedun is going to get a shot some time this year. He shoulda been a call-up long before Grebeshkov.

The Oilers need to get some of these players into some games, so they can parlay them into a goalie.